Tips for Attorneys and Authorized Representatives

Attorneys and Authorized Representatives are invited to submit procedural and general substantive questions to OCSH by fax to 808-692-7114, Attention: OCSH Supervisor. Questions and answers will be posted on this page. Answers should be taken as information sharing and should not be taken as legal advice. Any examples shown below illustrate basic principles, but the examples cannot take into account all factors and variables experienced in real life. Be careful when applying the principles to specific factual circumstances.

Question 11: I entered an appearance of counsel for a scheduled administrative child support hearing, but my client has since become my ex-client. I will not be representing him/her at the hearing. Do I need to file a motion to withdraw (as in court)? Or may I follow another procedure?

Answer: Title 5, Chapter 34, Hawaii Administrative Rules, does not require a motion before withdrawing as counsel with respect to an administrative child support hearing. However, having entered an appearance, all parties, the CSEA, and the OCSH will operate with the understanding that you represent the party until they receive notice otherwise. Please practice high standards of courtesy and fairness and give written notice as soon as the decision is made to all parties, the CSEA, and the OCSH. You may fax your notice to OCSH at 808-692-7114.

Question 10: I understand you do not apply the “Rules of Evidence” that apply to courts. What are your rules of evidence? Do you have any?

Answer: § 5-34-16, Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules, is the evidence rule that applies in OCSH hearings. Click on this link to see Chapter 34: Chapter 34, HAR

See also, HRS § 91-10.

If you wish to see a broader perspective, see the Revised Model State Administrative Procedure Act (2010), § 404: Rev. Model State APA (2010).

Additionally, American Law Reports, 36 ALR3rd 12, (originally published in 1971) provides extensive and updated case law on evidence in state administrative proceedings across the country. Access to this document may be available through a legal research company.

Question 9: Where can I find background information and commentaries to the amendments made to Chapter 576B, HRS, during the 2015 Legislative Session?

Answer: This is the link to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, Uniform Interstate Family Support Act Amendments (2008):

Approximately 44 states have enacted the 2008 Amendments as of August 2, 2015. Four states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have legislation pending.

Question 8: I heard that CSEA gets pay information from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR). Please explain.

Answer: The CSEA may access information provided by employers to the DLIR on each employee’s pay per quarter. This information may be helpful if you experienced difficulties in obtaining pay information on the other parent for the purpose of calculating child support. Please understand, though, that not all employers report earnings to the DLIR, nor are all reports timely.

Question 7: Where can I find online information on military pay?

Question 6: Following up on the answer to Question 5 below, what statutes of limitations apply in other states?

Answer: Great follow-up. By asking the question you realize the party contesting the UIFSA registration must prove the limitations period under the law of both the issuing state and Hawaiʻi. Shared below are some citations to laws and cases that may help you conduct your research. The citations are not comprehensive of all limitations issues. Additionally, laws change over time, so your own, independent research must always be done to update and verify the laws that apply to your specific situations.

Compare, Strickland v. Strickland, 375 S.C. 76, 650 S.E.2d 465 (S.C. 2007) (equitable estoppel, not laches, was a defense to a claim for enforcement of alimony; court did not apply a specific statute of limitations on judgments)

Answer: See, HRS §§ 576B-607(a)(7) and 576B-604. These sections place the burden on the party contesting the registration to prove the defense. The longer of the limitations period under the law of the issuing state or the law of Hawai’i for the enforcement of child support judgments will be applied. See, HRS §§ 576B-607(a)(7) and 576B-604. Therefore, the party contesting the registration must prove the limitation periods under the laws of both the issuing state and Hawaiʻi.

Question 4:An appeal from an administrative child support order has been or will be filed. Can you give some tips to appellants (and appellees)?

Tip #1:Know the difference between a CSEA order and an OCSH order. Administrative child support orders may be signed by either the CSEA Administrator (CSEA orders) or a Hearings Officer of the OCSH (OCSH orders). The CSEA Administrator signs orders when neither party timely requests a hearing on a proposed administrative order. CSEA orders, therefore, arise from proposed administrative orders that were not timely contested by either party. An OCSH Hearings Officer signs orders when a party timely requests a hearing on a proposed administrative order. OCSH orders, therefore, arise from proposed administrative orders that were timely contested by a party.

If the appealed order is a CSEA order, the OCSH had no involvement in the processing of the CSEA order, so the OCSH will have no record relating to the CSEA order. Therefore, if you obtain an “Order for Certification and Transmission of Record” that orders only the OCSH to certify and transmit the record on appeal, the OCSH will have no record to certify and transmit, and the order will be ineffective. The CSEA should be ordered to certify and transmit the record on appeal.

On the other hand, if the appealed order is an OCSH order, the OCSH should be ordered to certify and transmit the record on appeal. The CSEA will not have the official record of the hearing, so an order that requires only the CSEA to certify and transmit the record on appeal will be ineffective.

Tip #2: Obtain an Order for Certification and Transmission of Record that allows for at least 40 days for the certification and transmission of the record on appeal. Rule 72(d)(1) Hawaiʻi Family Court Rules requires the Family Court clerk to direct the “official or body whose…order…is appealed from…to certify and transmit…[the record] to the family court within 20 days of the date of the order or within such further time as may be allowed by the court.”

Preparation of a transcript from the audio recording of the hearing can take more than 20 days. In addition, appellant will need time to arrange for and pay a court reporter, and notify OCSH so the audio recording can be transmitted to the court reporter. Additionally, the court reporter will then need to transmit the transcript back to OCSH, and OCSH will then need to file the transcript with the Family Court. So, 20 days is usually impractical. A minimum of 40 days for most cases is much more practical.

The transcript will not be prepared if the appellant does not pay for the transcript. The appeal may be dismissed if the appellant fails to pay all costs, including costs for preparing the transcript.

Tip #5: The OCSH will file and mail to the parties a “NOTICE REGARDING CERTIFICATION AND TRANSMISSION OF TRANSCRIPTS” after it receives the Order for Certification and Transmission of Record on appeal. The notice will inform the parties of next steps regarding the preparation and filing of transcripts.

Question 3: My client will be appealing an administrative child support order. What rules must be followed?

Answer: Start with Rules 72 and 72.1, Hawaiʻi Family Court Rules.

Question 2: We would like to calculate the average monthly income from some pay statements to take into account some ups and downs in earnings, but the pay statements show a pay lag. If the pay statements are used, how should the income be averaged?

Answer: The table below shows a 5-day lag in the pay date from the last day of each pay period. The wage earner is paid twice a month.

Paycheck date

1/5

1/20

2/5

2/20

3/5

3/20

Pay period

12/16-12/31

1/1-1/15

1/16-1/31

2/1-2/15

2/16-2/28

3/1-3/15

Pay

$2,000

$2,500

$2000

$2,500

$2000

$2350

As of the March 20th paycheck, the 6th paycheck out of 24 paychecks for the year, total earnings were $13,350. $13,350 ÷ 6 = $2,225 per paycheck. The worker is paid twice a month, so $2,225 x 2 = a monthly average of $4,450. The same result, $4,450 per month, is achieved by multiplying $2,225 by 24 (pay checks) and dividing by 12 (months).

Some parties have argued that the average should be $13,350 ÷ 2.5 months = $5,340 because the last pay period is 3/1-3/15. However, that argument fails to take into account the first pay period, 12/16-12/31. If all pay periods are counted, the divisor would still be 6, the same divisor used when counting paycheck dates. So the monthly average from the pay statements under this example is $4,450, not $5,340.

This answer cannot and does not take into account all factors and variables in life, so the monthly income for your particular child support case may be calculated differently.

Question 1:My client needs a continuance because she/he will be out of town and won’t be available by phone on the day of the hearing. What do I need to do to get a continuance?

Answer: You may submit a Request to Reschedule Hearing to OCSH. We prefer that you use the form available on this website. Click here for the Forms page. An OCSH worker will contact the CSEA representative, and the other party if the subject of the hearing is more than enforcement, to see if there are objections. No objection? The request will likely be granted. Objection? The request might not be granted. The Hearings Officer appointed for the hearing will weigh the request and the objections and make a decision on the request.